At 30, Chinese pianist Lang Lang is a star - one of the few classical musicians whose fame has burst the bounds of the classical music world. He has a way of showing up wherever he's sure to be noticed; not just at Carnegie Hall, but also at the White House, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Nobel Prize awards in Stockholm.

While Lang is still viewed with a jaundiced eye by some critics who aren't convinced he's the real thing, he doesn't lack for musical daring or stamina. In March he played all five of Beethoven's piano concertos in just four days with London's Philharmonia Orchestra.

Beethoven is again on his mind, with his upcoming appearances with the Houston Symphony on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado. Rather than select one work to play three times, Lang will play three different Beethoven concertos - No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 - in these concerts.

From New York, Lang recently talked about performing concertos with orchestras all over the world.

Q: What are the major differences between playing a concerto and a piano recital?

A: Of course, with a piano recital you're playing all by yourself, so it's a one-man show. A concerto is teamwork: You need to work closely with the conductor and have a very close interaction with the orchestra.

Q: Which do you prefer?

A: I like both - and I also like playing chamber music and accompanying singers.

Q: How many different orchestras do you perform with in a year?

A: About 50 or 60, and I play about as many recitals.

Q: When you're on tour, do you ever forget which city you're in?

A: Yes, sometime when I wake up in the middle of the night, I wonder, "Am I in Budapest, or am I in Vienna?" Sometimes I get confused.

Q: When you play a concerto, how much rehearsal time do you usually have with the orchestra?

A: There are always two rehearsals. You have to work very precisely with the conductor and make use of every minute. But two rehearsals are totally enough.

Q: In a concerto performance, who's really in charge, the conductor or the soloist?

A: I don't think it's about who's in charge. The conductor has the score in front of him and whole orchestra to worry about. The pianist has to focus on the piano part, but you can also talk to the conductor about balance, or style, or the orchestra's sound. The conductor looks after the collaboration between the orchestra and the piano, and my attention is to the collaboration between the piano and the orchestra.

Q: Have you ever had a serious disagreement with a conductor about musical interpretation?

A: Yes, once or twice in the past, but not very often. If you don't like to work with someone, then you don't work with him for a second time. It's the same for a conductor: If he doesn't like the soloist, he doesn't work with that soloist again. If you have artistic problems, you just don't work together. And you can stay friends, and that's fine.

Q: And how do you balance your sound with the orchestra? When you're playing at the front of the stage, how do you know how you sound to the audience?

A: Normally, you can hear the hall's reaction to your sound. And in rehearsals, there's usually an assistant conductor present, who can say what the sound is like in the hall. Often I already know the hall well, because I've played in all the major concert halls around the world, sometimes about 20 times. But if I'm playing in a hall for the first time, I need someone in the rehearsal to give me some feedback.

Q: You're playing not one but three Beethoven concertos with the Houston Symphony. Why is this?

A: Because I'm playing three concerts in Houston, I said, "Let's play three different concertos." Then I thought that Beethoven would be ideal. But I don't really have a reason why I'm playing Beethoven's concertos, except that every pianist needs to play those great pieces in order to become a great pianist.

Colin Eatock is a writer who covers classical music. He lives in Toronto.